Tag Archives: Winter Park

September 5, 2011 · 5:24 pm

Shipyard Emporium

I can’t believe the three-day weekend is already coming to an end. I really wanted to use this weekend to spend some quality time with Kevin since we’ve both been so busy and he’s been working such late nights, and I think we succeeded.

On Friday evening, we went out to celebrate the end of the workweek and the beginning of the long weekend at Shipyard Emporium in Winter Park. I was excited to try the new restaurant and sample new-to-me beers. Shipyard Emporium is actually a market, bakery and restaurant, so you can buy cases of their beers there in addition to eating in.

We sat out on the patio, and it was a really nice evening. We got a break in the humidity and there was a nice breeze, so it was pleasant to be outside. I hope this is a sign of weather to come this fall!

I started out with the Shipyard Pumpkinhead beer, which I’m so excited is in season. I’m pretty much a fan of pumpkin-flavored everything, and beer is no exception. The beer is smooth, mild and sweet with hints of spices that suggest pumpkin pie. I’m not a huge beer drinker, but this is definitely something I could get used to.

pumpkinhead

Kevin ordered Shipyard’s Summer Ale then switched to the Pumpkinhead for his second.

summer ale

Shipyard’s menu consists of a lot of New England favorites, such as lobster rolls, and also had various sandwiches, flatbreads and salads. You could even create your own meat and cheese plate from options from the deli case. I was very tempted to do that but then changed my mind once I saw the Lake Virginia B.O.A.T. sandwich. B.O.A.T. stands for bacon, onion, avocado and tomato…pretty much my favorite sandwich ingredients. The sandwich did not disappoint.

sandwich

It was served on their freshly made-on-the-spot multi-grain bread, which was chewy and lovely. Their sandwiches come with a choice of sides. I opted for the potato salad, which consisted of red potatoes, celery and a little too much dill. The potato salad was nothing special, but the sandwich was perfect. I could have eaten two.

Kevin ordered the Charcuterie Flatbread, which was topped with marinara sauce, capocollo, sopressata, Genoa salami and havarti cheese. Kevin really enjoyed it.

flatbread

I thought the crust was delicious, but the meats were a little too salty for my taste, and I thought it could use a little more cheese.

I had a great time at dinner, and I really liked Shipyard’s menu and beer selection. I have a feeling I’ll be back for more Pumpkinhead while I can get it.

Weekly Workout Summary

  • Monday-Treadmill run
  • Tuesday-Abs and arms
  • Wednesday-Long walk with Parko
  • Thursday-Off
  • Friday-Abs and treadmill run
  • Saturday-Off
  • Sunday-Off

I definitely got swept up in holiday festivities this weekend, which kept me from working out. On Saturday, I couldn’t peel myself away from college football, and on Sunday, we went over to Kevin’s parents’ house for BBQ-ing and family time. I made sure to hit up the gym today to get moving!

Are you a beer drinker? What is your favorite kind of beer?

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Filed under American, Beer, Brewery, Winter, Winter Park, Workout Summary

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September 1, 2011 · 6:26 pm

Bosphorous

Thanks to everyone who entered my stainless steel straws giveaway! The winner is Er!

winner

winning comment

Congrats, Er! Send me an email at sushiandsitups[at]gmail[dot]com with your full name and address, and I’ll send these out to you as soon as possible!

Last night my dad and I grabbed dinner at Bosphorous, a Turkish restaurant, on Park Ave. We actually took a Mediterranean cruise when I was in middle school, which ended in Turkey, but I don’t really remember any of the food from there.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, I realized I had forgotten my camera. Rookie mistake. So my apologies for the crappy photos—these were taken on my iPhone (3!!).

We started out with an order of lavas, which is their traditional hollow bread. It came out piping hot, and once you rip into it, the whole thing deflates. It was warm, chewy, buttery and delicious.

lavas

We dipped the lavas in hummus and roasted eggplant.

hummus and roasted eggplant

You really can’t go wrong with hummus and warm dippers. The eggplant was also delicious. There were huge chunks of eggplant, and it was swimming in tomato sauce. However, it was served cold, which I didn’t expect. I had never actually had cold eggplant before.

My dad ordered shrimp casserole for his main course, which was sautéed shrimp coated in a cream sauce and served with rice.

shrimp casserole

He was kind of lukewarm on the dish. He said the cheese overpowered everything else.

I ordered lamb kofte, which is a mixture of lamb and veal with seasonings then formed into patties and grilled.

lamb kofte

It was really flavorful and moist. The spices were really strong, but balanced out well with the rice. The rice was also extremely seasoned and flavorful. I really enjoyed my meal but could only eat half of it. It was a lot of food!

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal, even though my dad didn’t, but there are some things they could work on. They were out of a fish on their menu, which was my dad’s first choice, and then they were out of the wine he wanted. Our waitress was also a little annoying. She had great intentions, but she kept coming back with little quips that you could tell she uses with every table.

“Great choice. If you don’t like it, I’ll eat it.”

“How is everything? Glad you like my cooking!”

It just didn’t fit with the ambience they were going for there. It’s also important to note that this place is pretty pricey. Most of the entrees are more than $20. Welcome to Park Ave!

The next day at work, I heated up my leftovers making my cubicle smell like onions. Whoops. I really do try not to be that person, but everyone around me said it smelled delicious.

leftovers

It really did heat up well. The patties were still really flavorful and moist, and the rice was just as delicious and I remembered from the night before. However, those spices definitely added up.

Lunch was followed by a lot of water.

water

And additional reinforcements.

breath mints

Sorry if this post seems rushed. I’m feeling really icky. I woke up with the worse headache this morning, which hasn’t gone away despite lots of Advil all day, and on top of that, I’ve been feeling kind of nauseas and my eyes are having a difficult time adjusting making me dizzy. I’m just a mess. Time to shut the computer and give myself a break.

Have you ever had Turkish food?

Any fun plans for the month of September? I’m pumped for football season!

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Filed under Middle Eastern, Park Ave, Winter Park

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August 24, 2011 · 8:53 pm

Paco’s

Have you entered my stainless steel straws giveaway yet? You have until Tuesday!

Tonight my good friend, Megan, and I met up for a girl’s dinner at Paco’s in Winter Park. Her husband travels a lot, and Kevin’s been working a ton, so we decided to grab dinner together. I’ve always heard that Paco’s is a great hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint, but the service can be really bad.

I’m pretty sure Paco’s is a house on the side of the road turned into a restaurant, but it’s really cute and quaint on the inside.

Our service turned out to be great. Everyone was really nice and welcoming when we walked in, and our waitress was very sweet and efficient.

The menu consists of your typical Mexican fare from tacos to burritos to enchiladas.

I ordered a combination dinner, which came with a taco, two enchiladas, rice and beans. It was a lot of food for about $12. All of their prices were really reasonable.

enchiladas

tacos

I really liked that the tacos come in your choice of hard or soft, and the soft tacos come in either flour or corn tortillas. I love corn tortillas. I opted for a corn tortilla filled with beef. For my enchiladas, I got one with beef and one with cheese.

The ground beef in both my taco and enchilada were under-seasoned. It tasted like normal ground beef without anything added. The real star of the plate was the rice. It was light, fluffy and really well seasoned.

On my next order, I think I’ll try a different filler since I wasn’t thrilled with the ground beef, but you really can’t beat the prices. Plus, all the chips and salsa you can eat doesn’t hurt.

What is your favorite Mexican food dish? I know it’s not traditional, but I love taco salads! Maybe I’ll try that next time I’m at Paco’s…

12 Comments

Filed under Full Service, Mexican, Winter Park

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July 24, 2011 · 10:53 am

Hillstone

Kevin is anti-the term “date night.” He doesn’t think couples should need planned date nights and that they should just spend time together when they can. I don’t really care one way or the other if we have “date nights,” but when we do go out to eat, one of my favorite “date” places is Hillstone (formerly Houston’s) in Winter Park.

I love the atmosphere and the service is always top notch. Kevin first introduced it to my for my last birthday dinner almost a year ago.

The other evening Kevin and I went on a non-date night dinner there with one of our friends who had never been. Our friend Judy is always introducing us to new restaurants, so we wanted to return the favor. She is the one who first took us to The Ravenous Pig.

We started out with an order of the wood grilled artichokes, which a favorite dish of mine from any restaurant (although I really want to make the leap and try the smoked salmon one day). However, I forgot to snap a picture in all my excitement. It is truly wonderful. You get three very well seasoned artichoke halves, and you can taste the smokiness from the grill as you make your way through the leaves to the heart. It also comes with a wonderful dipping sauce. I’ve never had artichokes prepared so well or with so many flavors.

For our main courses, Judy ordered the sashimi tuna salad, which she really enjoyed.

Kevin ordered a hamburger. Hillstone has great burgers, which they grind the meat for each day, and they also have an amazing ahi tuna burger on their lunch menu.

I ordered the veggie burger, which was topped with a nice, thick slice of jack cheese. It was really good and hearty.

 The burger was sweet, which went well with the egg bun. It was also massive, so I ended up eating half of it without the bun to save room in my belly.

After dinner, we walked around the area behind the restaurant, which has a dock and Adirondack chairs for people to lounge in while sipping wine and looking over the lake. Actually, one of my dad’s and step mom’s first dates was at Hillstone, and they sat on the dock and watched the sun set.

What do you think of “date nights?” Do you and your significant other have them? Kevin and I actually don’t do a lot of activities that involve just the two of us. We usually are inviting friends or family to join, so when we do something alone, I consider it a “date night” without telling him.

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Filed under American, Winter Park

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July 2, 2011 · 10:09 am

The Ravenous Pig

The highlight of my eats this week had to be lunch at The Ravenous Pig with my two friends Katie and Sharon. It was a great escape from work with great company and, of course, great food. I had only been for dinner before, but I really enjoyed the lunch atmosphere. It is not as crowded, and the menu was still decadent.

The Ravenous Pig is a gastropub in Winter Park, which means that they feature traditional pub fare but with a more upscale twist. They have recently been featured in New York Time’s “36 Hours in Orlando” feature and the two owners and chefs, married couple James and Julie Petrakis, were 2011 James Beard semifinalist for the southern region. These accolades make getting a dinner reservation very difficult, but it’s worth it.

We started out our lunch with their Lake Meadow Deviled Eggs.

They had a great mustardy bite, which was balanced by the bits of bacon sprinkled on top. These are not your typical pot luck deviled eggs. They were wonderful, creamy and elegant.

I ordered the lamb pita, which came with a choice of salad or fries, of which I opted for fries.

The pita was thick but airy and filled with various vegetables in a cumin yogurt sauce. The lamb patties within the pita were flavorful and contained hidden pistachios, which added a great crunch. It was fantastic.

Also ordered at our table were the lobster tacos and grilled cheese, which both looked amazing.

I left lunch incredibly full. All of their food was very rich making me wish I could have spent the rest of the afternoon lounging, but alas, I headed back to the office to finish out my day. I can’t wait for my next trip to “The Pig.”

What do you think of the “gastropub” concept popping up everywhere?

4 Comments

Filed under Full Service, Gatropub, Winter Park

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